Ubuntu 8.10 on PS3

Matt

Nearly finished installing the latest Ubuntu on the PS3. I'd been running 7.10 fine, and they have also ported 8.10 with no issues reported, so just set about installing it now.

For anyone who wants to turn their PS3 into a half decent PC, this is just the trick.

Pics and more info to follow when installation has finished.

Sjdickso

Sounds intresting, look forward to seeing the write up on it.

Matt

Well it's all installed and updated. It's working fine as a basic computer, but it still really slow at doing anything else, because Sony limit the resources available to the other OS.

Browsing the web, playing music is great. and works fine, but DVD playback is crap. VLC won't read the DVD directory correctly, so plays the films incorrectly, and when you do get them to play by selecting the .VOB files, it puts green vertical lines down the image when you try to change the site.

Here is a quick screenshot:

Sjdickso

Looks very good Matt. Was it wasy to install did you have to install a new HDD?

Matt

Sjdickso said:
Looks very good Matt. Was it wasy to install did you have to install a new HDD?

No mate, there is an option in the PS3 dashboard to install another OS. You just need to partition the HDD with the built in PS3 partitioner, allocate 10.7GB, and then make sure you download the PS3 ISO image of Ubuntu, as it has a couple of extra files required to install it.

Sjdickso

That sounds really easy. I will suggest this to a mate.

Matt

Spent ages trying to get the black borders sorted on the TV. Found a guide here:

http://psubuntu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=225

Here are the specific settings for my TV

sudo apt-get install fbset

Then, stop GDM, by switching to terminal Ctrl+Alt+F1

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

My TV is 1080i

ps3-video-mode -v 132

I had an issue with the settings being over written, and then not applying the new values, turned out it was the below
Edit this file: /etc/event.d/ps3videomode

start on runlevel 2
exec /usr/bin/ps3videomode -v 132

Edit the kboot.conf file to tell the kernal to load in the new resolution

message=/etc/kboot.msg
default=linux
timeout=100
linux='/boot/vmlinux initrd=/boot/initrd.img root=UUID=23fa9dd8-cec4-49ff-8872-9ea547d6b0f6 quiet video=ps3fb:mode:132'
old='/boot/vmlinux.old initrd=/boot/initrd.img.old root=UUID=23fa9dd8-cec4-49ff-8872-9ea547d6b0f6 quiet'
original='/boot/vmlinux initrd=/boot/initrd.img root=UUID=23fa9dd8-cec4-49ff-8872-9ea547d6b0f6 quiet'

I made a copy of the original boot string, and at the end of your linux one, add video=ps3fb:mode:132

Then you need to set your settings

sudo vim /etc/init.d/fbset.sh

This is my file with the settings that work for me

#!/bin/sh -e
fbset -a -xres 1815 -yres 1025 -vxres 1815 -vyres 1025
exit 0

Make this file executable

sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/fbset.sh

link it to the rc2.d directory so it loads before GDM starts

sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/fbset.sh /etc/rc2.d/S26fbset

Then reboot the bitch!

 sudo reboot

I had issues with my resultion being overwritten, and it turned out to be the default setting in etc/event.d/ps3videomode that was overwriting mine

Edit this file

 sudo vim etc/event.d/ps3videomode

start on runlevel 2
exec /usr/bin/ps3videomode -v 132

Set -v 132 to what ever setting you chose for your display

Matt

Just changed my settings to use 720, as you can't see any of the text using 1080i.

fbset -a -xres 1206 -yres 684 -vxres 1206 -vyres 684

Changed all the above where is says -v 132 to -v 131 for 720